British ColumbiaThree companies have been fined a total of $184,000 following a WorkSafeBC investigation into an incident at the University of Victoria that saw a worker near the top of a rebar tower fall to the ground as it collapsed.3 companies have been handed a combined $184,000 in penaltiesAndrew Kurjata · CBC News · Posted: Oct 23, 2025 7:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesDrone footage shows collapsed rebar at a University of Victoria construction site on June 10, 2025. Three companies have been fined a total of $184,000 following a WorkSafeBC investigation into the collapse. (CHEK News)Three companies have been fined a total of $184,000 following a WorkSafeBC investigation into an incident at the University of Victoria that saw a worker near the top of a rebar tower fall to the ground as it collapsed.The agency found “high risk safety violations” on the part of Bird Construction GP Limited, Viking Reinforcing and A.R.M. Reinforcing, who were all involved in the project.The collapse took place June 8 during the construction of a new engineering lab at the University of Victoria and caused traffic in the area to be closed for several hours.Although one worker was involved, the agency says no injuries were reported.CBC News has reached out to all the companies named in the investigation.According to a release from WorkSafeBC, a worker was near the top of a rebar tower when it collapsed and the worker fell to the ground with it.The agency says the structure “had not been supported according to standing practice and there were no written instructions from a professional engineer regarding the bracing of the tower.”As the “prime contractor of a multiple-employer worksite,” Bird Construction GP Limited “failed to ensure health and safety activities at the worksite were coordinated,” it said.”The firm also failed to ensure that all partially assembled structures were supported as necessary to safely withstand any loads likely to be imposed on them. These were both high-risk violations,” WorkSafeBC said. The company was fined $140,209.70.Viking Reinforcing Ltd. was fined $36,089.65, with WorkSafeBC finding it had “failed to ensure that all partially assembled structures were supported as necessary,” and “failed to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety.”A.R.M. Reinforcing Ltd. was fined $7,742.91 for the same violations.With files from CHEK News
Fines issued after worker falls to ground at University of Victoria construction project
